Kevin Cuneo: Dahlkemper adds excitement to race

Kevin Cuneo

March 4, 2013 12:01 AM

Kevin Cuneo

March 4, 2013 12:01 AM

Even though Kathy Dahlkemper was vacationing in England last week and was unavailable for comment when rumors began surfacing, it appears she is gearing up for a run against County Executive Barry Grossman in the Democratic primary. If it happens, it would be an exciting sprint to the vote on May 21. Dahlkemper, thanks to her two years in the U.S. House, has name recognition and an enthusiastic corps of supporters. I also hear that some well-heeled backers are ready to provide financial support. The pugnacious Grossman has proven he is no pushover, however, and he, too, boasts solid backing from many of Erie's movers and shakers. It should be an interesting campaign. ... Mayor Joe Sinnott is running for a third term and, with the filing deadline for candidates set for March 12, he might not have serious opposition. This is proof that Erie politics have changed. In the old days, a candidate from the city's east side would seize on the McBride Viaduct issue, claiming the city is dragging its feet on its future, and use it to launch a campaign against the incumbent mayor. Sinnott would also be vulnerable on the deplorable state of many inner-city neighborhoods and the violence that's erupted there. Yet there are no challengers. ... Bob Woodward's tiff with President Barack Obama's aides should add some pizazz to his April 10 address at Mercyhurst University. Woodward accused Gene Sperling, one of Obama's top economic advisers, of rough treatment and veiled threats, although a report in Politico on Thursday, which carried the actual e-mail exchange between the two men, made it sound a lot gentler than what Woodward had alluded. For ticket information about Woodward's Mercyhurst speech, call 824-3000.

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Old friend and newspaper colleague Jeff Pinski retired Friday from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where he'd served in the communications office. The former Erie Morning News managing editor is certainly old enough to retire, but I'm betting he won't stay idle for long. ... Monsignor Tom McSweeney, who spent three days last week in UPMC Hamot's cardiac care unit, where he battled bronchitis that triggered a heart flare-up, has told NBC that he won't be available to provide commentary on the deliberations to name a new pope. NBC already had McSweeney under contract, but his doctors warned that if he traveled overseas, the risk of pneumonia would be too great. ... Joe Ganska, who died Thursday at 63, was a well-respected coach for many years in the Boys & Girls Baseball program. ... Dick Bayer recently foiled a scam in which con artists used the Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes as a ruse. A phone caller told Bayer he'd won a major prize and that he could avoid taxes by sending a $250 cash card. He reported the call to state officials, who told him that particular scam, run offshore, is especially popular at this time of year. ... Betty Lou Graham, who valiantly fought serious illness in recent years, raised a fine family. Her daughter in Erie, Terri Michalski, was especially devoted to her mom, a delightful person who died Tuesday. ... Erie's Jon Hall has written an entertaining book called, "They Think They Fooled Us." It features witty responses to actual quotes from Barack Obama. ... Margaret Stewart is taking a break from her duties as director of the Erie County Public Library as she recovers from major back surgery.